Golf Clubs 101: When to Use Each Club

Golf seems like a very complicated game for beginners mainly due to the fact that they don’t use the golf clubs properly. For you to be able to improve your game, you have to know when you should use each club, and why. Therefore, if you want to step up your golf game, read the following lines to learn when to use each golf club.

Woods

Woods should be used to hit long shots. For example, if a hole is 450 yards from tee to green, you have to use a wood to hit off the tee. Woods are hollow-bodied large headed golf clubs. You should use a wood club when you’re at least 175 yards or more away from the green. Most players carry 3 and 5 woods in their bag. The 3 wood has a loft between 15 and 18 degrees, while the 5 wood has a loft between 20 and 22 degrees. The higher the golf club number, the higher the loft.

Hybrids

Hybrids are a combination of an iron length shaft and a fairway wood head design. These clubs offer a better distance than typical 3 and 4 iron shots. This is the reason why a lot of professionals have replaced the 3 and 4 irons with hybrid clubs. Remember that most manufacturers match the hybrid number to the corresponding iron number. The best indicator of distance when looking at a hybrid is the loft. Seeing that most 3 hybrids match up closely with a 3 iron loft, you can replace them with the iron due to the fact that they perform better with regards to forgiveness and distance.

Irons

Irons should be used when you are less than 200 yards away from the green. A standard golf club set consists of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and a pitching wedge. The closer you are to the green, the higher the iron you have to use. The 3 and 4 irons are harder to hit than higher numbered irons, this being the reason why a lot of players have turned to replacing the 3 and 4 irons with higher lofted woods like the 7 and 9 woods.

Wedges

Wedges are basically specialty irons. The first wedge in a golf club set is the pitching wedge. It generally has 46-48 degrees of loft. These clubs generally increase in increments of 4 degrees loft. Therefore, wedges commonly come in 48, 52, 56, 60, and 65 degrees in loft. Wedges should be used when you are close to the green. Their blade design encourages shot control and shaping.

Putters

Putters have a special purpose in the game of golf. They have to be used strictly to get the ball into the hole. This golf club is used on the green. There are a lot of styles of putters that you can choose from to suit your game. The most popular styles of putters are short, long, belly, heel-toe, mallet, and center-hosel.